A Tampa man was jailed after Polk County deputies accused him of stealing diesel fuel using fraudulent credit cards.Noel Perez-Partagas, 20, of 6403 N. Armenia Ave., was arrested Wednesday and taken to the Polk County Jail on charges of trafficking in stolen credit cards, fraudulent use of credit cards, obtaining fuel fraudulently, unlawful conveyance of fuel and petit theft.
The investigation began Monday after fuel thefts were reported the previous week at Murphy's USA stations in the county. Detectives focused on two stations, one in Mulberry and one in Winter Haven.Detectives learned that on July 3 and Monday, a suspect in a white 2000 Ford pickup bought approximately 99 gallons of diesel fuel with stolen or altered credit cards, the Polk sheriff's office said.
About 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, a man was seen pumping fuel into the bed of a pickup matching that description at the Murphy station at 2118 U.S. 92 W., Auburndale. The truck left the area at a high rate of speed, and deputies conducted a traffic stop, the sheriff's office said.Detectives said they interviewed the driver and searched the truck, where they found 89 plastic cards with magnetic stripes - 20 of them on the driver. They also saw that the cards were an assortment of Walmart gift cards, hotel door keys and credit cards, and the cards had re-encoded credit information, meaning there were victims whose personal information has been stolen and coded onto the smart card.
Detectives said the card used to purchase the fuel Monday was a Walmart gift card that had used someone's stolen credit information.A search also revealed that the metal toolbox area in the bed of the truck was fitted with a compartment that led to a large metal tank in the bed, used to store the diesel that Perez-Partagas "purchased" at the pumps.Britons are regularly using credit and debit cards to pay for items which were once purchased with a fiver or less, new research for Debenhams Personal Finance has revealed.
Cards rather than cash are often handed over for coffees and snacks in local cafes, sandwich bars and pubs.The study found a similar picture in newsagents and sweet shops with the purchase of magazines and confectionary now frequently made with plastic.Debenhams looked at latest industry figures for spending by card in high street outlets where previously the bill would be settled with a handful of small change.
The number of transactions using credit and debit cards has risen by almost 40% from 7.4 billion in 2008 to 10.2 billion this year, but the value of the average transaction by credit and debit card has dropped.A Debenhams survey found the trend is being led by younger adults who enjoy the convenience of plastic in their everyday spending for everything from a skinny latte to a glossy magazine.Almost one in three (31%) 18-35 year olds said they used a credit or debit card for purchases under ￡10 at least once a week and 19% said they used plastic for purchases of ￡5 or under.
The study revealed that the top ten items purchased by card which cost ￡5 or under included a coffee in the number one slot, chocolate, sweets and crisps, second and soft drinks third. Newspapers, magazines and a pint of milk and a loaf of bread also made the list.Those under 35 told researchers the main reasons for using a card was “convenience” and “not having to carry cash”. The savvy ones among them say they are also channelling their use of cards to certain providers who offer cash-back and loyalty schemes.
However, not all take card convenience for granted, with 7% of those that regularly use a card for purchases under a fiver admitting they frequently check with the cashier in a shop if it is OK to do so, or apologise for the transaction being so small.Older people still prefer cash as a way of keeping a check on their finances, especially in the current difficult economic times and use cards for larger less frequent purchases. Only 5% of over 55 year olds said they prefer plastic to cash for small value treats.
Debenhams Head of Personal Finance Mike Hazell says: “Cash is still a big part of our lives, but for an increasing number of people, in particular the younger generation who have grown up with cards, plastic is the payment method of choice, even for relatively small, everyday purchases.“They like the convenience and the benefit that some cards have of reward schemes. Others just don’t like carrying cash. It’s all down to personal choice.”
Our changing attitude to cards has been reflected in statistics showing frequent transactions for smaller amounts now are often put on our plastic. In coffee shops, the total spend on plastic is up 9%, but the average payment made by debit card has dropped to ￡8.48, compared to ￡11.20 a year ago.The pub is another place where cards are increasingly being flashed to pay for a round of drinks. The debit card comes out when the bill comes to just over ￡20 with the average debit card payment being ￡22.78. A year ago a typical debit card transaction was ￡24.58.
Ever wonder who had the bright idea to put that small magnetic strip on the back of your credit card? The one that tells a machine what card you have, which ultimately lets you pay for your transaction without any cash.That man was Ron Klein. He is now a 77-year-old Korean War veteran who had no idea his invention was going to take off the way it did.
Klein invented the strip in 1966 because he was frustrated with how complicated charge purchases were at the time. Merchants had to painstakingly look through a book containing thousands of account numbers to see if the potential buyer had bad credit. Klein utilized the same technology used in reel-to-reel tape communications to come up with a magnetic strip that could be placed on the back of a plastic card.
Click on their website www.smartcardfactory.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment